The Golden State Warriors trail 1-0 in the Western Conference Finals after suffering a 108-102 defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1.
It’s the first game of the Western Conference finals and it features two teams who have adapted successfully during the post season. The Warriors had one playoff game without the injured MVP Steph Curry and the Thunder beat the almighty San Antonio Spurs.
Everything looked good for the Warriors early on as the Thunder trailed by 13 at the half, Klay Thompson was on fire and Curry buzzer-beating three to end the half indicated that it was the Warriors’ night. But the Oklahoma City outscored the Warriors 61-42 in the third and fourth quarters and eventually steal the home-court advantage in the opener of the Thunder’s fourth West finals in six years.
Russell Westbrook scored 27, had 12 assists and seven steals to lead Oklahoma City’s attack. Kevin Durant, who made a key 17-foot jumper with 30.7 seconds left, had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Steven Adams with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
“We’ve just got to compete,” Westbrook said. “It’s going to be a tough game. It’s a tough building. They have a lot of great players on their team, but I know we’re a great team and when we put our minds to it, tonight we didn’t play our best game and we came out with a win.”
Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, Thompson scored 25 points and Draymond Green recorded 23 points.
If there is any consolation here for the Golden State, Monday marked Curry’s 45th straight postseason game with a three-pointer, breaking Reggie Miller’s record (44) for the most consecutive postseason games with a made three-pointer. He also holds the mark for most consecutive regular season games with a made 3 at 152 and counting.
Miller’s streak of 44 consecutive playoff contests with a three-point field goal began in 1995 and concluded in 2000, while Curry broke the NBA record for threes in a single season with 402.
The Thunders and Warriors wll meet again for Game 2 on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena and if this is any indication of what is coming, OKC could pull another upset by beating the team, which recorded the most win in a regular NBA season.
Betting Odds for Game 2
Oklahoma City +8.5
Golden State -8.5
Odds Courtesy of Oddsshark
